SHSelfHostIndex

Stalwart Mail Server vs OpenDKIM

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted mail servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
ST Stalwart Mail Server Modern all-in-one mail server in a single binary VS OP OpenDKIM DKIM signing and verification filter for mail servers
FeatureStalwart Mail ServerOpenDKIM
CategoryMail ServersMail Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0BSD-3-Clause
LanguageRustC
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB64 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, bare-metalbare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 14,059★ 117
First released20202009
ReplacesMicrosoft Exchange, Google WorkspaceProprietary email security gateways

Why pick each one

Choose Stalwart Mail Server if…

  • Single modern binary
  • Strong security defaults
Stalwart Mail Server details

Choose OpenDKIM if…

  • Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
  • Written in C
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
OpenDKIM details

Frequently asked questions

Is Stalwart Mail Server or OpenDKIM better?

Neither is universally better. Stalwart Mail Server has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Stalwart Mail Server and OpenDKIM free and open-source?

Yes. Stalwart Mail Server is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and OpenDKIM under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Stalwart Mail Server and OpenDKIM with Docker?

Stalwart Mail Server: yes. OpenDKIM: check the project docs for container support.

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